Pakistan, UNHCR to work for Afghan refugees voluntary repatriation

ISLAMABAD, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR will work closely for a comprehensive strategy of voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees while creating conducive conditions in Afghanistan for their resettlement and reintegration, a Pakistani minister said Thursday.

After attending the 17th session of the Tripartite Commission on Afghan refugees between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Pakistan's Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Najamudin Khan, emphasized in a press release for effective measures to ensure sustainable voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.

The minister said the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and their repatriation to Afghanistan has been reviewed in the meeting comprehensibly. Pakistan delegation led by the minister visited Kabul on July 27-29 to attend the three-party meeting.

The Tripartite Commission meeting reaffirmed commitment to voluntary, gradual safe and dignified repatriation. It emphasized the need of strengthening reintegration programs within Afghanistan's development strategy, he added.

The minister highlighted hospitality Pakistan had continued to extend to Afghan refugees for past three decades. He said that Pakistan was still had around 1.7 million registered Afghan refugees, in addition to a large number of unregistered Afghan refugees.

The meeting agreed in principle to document to manage the movement of people from Afghanistan to Pakistan, and their temporary stay in Pakistan. It was agreed to devise modalities including facilitative visa regimes through bilateral consultations, the minister said.